Box Score — Oakland University

Box Score — Eastern Kentucky University

Sophomore forward Jenna Hellstrom scored her first and second goals of the season Sunday, leading the Kent State soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Eastern Kentucky at Zoeller Field.

With goals in the 17th and 29th minutes, Hellstrom, who leads her team in shots with 27, led an explosive offense against a struggling Eastern Kentucky team.

“I was patient and kept telling myself it’s going to come, so we worked really hard as a team to possess the ball, and I ended up scoring two,” Hellstrom said, who scored five goals last year as a freshman.

The Flashes bested EKU with a 24-5 shot ratio, scoring three goals on freshman goalkeeper Anna Hall, who has already given up 20 this season.

Kent State coach Rob Marinaro said Sunday’s victory was a big improvement from Friday’s home game when the Flashes tied the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies, 1-1 in double overtimeW.

“We capitalized better today,” Marinaro said. “We were a little quicker on the offense and a little bit more explosive, creating more chances.”

Marinaro says the key to the team’s offensive explosion Sunday was finishing chances, while Hellstrom attributed the win to “coming out really hard defensively and offensively.”

Sunday’s victory over Eastern Kentucky also concluded Kent State’s non-conference schedule. The team’s impressive 5-2-1 record has been a testament to the players’ progress.

“We’re pleased with what we’ve done, but we also understand that there is still room for improvement,” Marinaro said.

Hellstrom added to Marinaro’s postgame comments and said good practice has produced noticeable results.

“We’ve progressed and gotten better throughout,” Hellstrom said. “We’ve been practicing really hard leading up to games, and it’s showing its results.”

Every Kent State win this season has been a shutout. The Flashes’ goal differential at home is 7-1 and 5-4 on the road. Kent State is now 2-0-1 at home, with two games left to play to finish out its current four-game home stand.

The Flashes will be in action at Zoeller Field Friday, Sept. 26, against Buffalo and Sunday, Sept. 28, against longtime rival, Akron.

Contact Ben Orner at [email protected].